Some Of The Most Common And Unusual Food Truck Insurance Claims From Insure My Food Truck

There are obvious reasons why insurance is necessary, such as auto accidents, fires and food-related illness, but you might be surprised at what some of the most common and most outrageous food truck claims are…

Insure My Food Truck has a gourmet food truck insurance program in most states. We have approximately 900 truck and trailer clients from coast to coast, so we see all types of claims coming in.

A gourmet food truck was at one of its routine spots. Its new and very expensive generator sucked up plastic, which caused the generator to fail. We paid for the repairs of the generator and the loss of income while the repairs were made. $3,316 was paid in damages.

Los Angeles, CA

A gourmet ice cream truck had its biggest job of the summer for a large outdoor concert. The owner needed to rent a refrigerated van to store extra inventory that couldn’t fit on the truck. The rental van’s compressor went out. This caused a loss in inventory and a loss of income due to not being able to finish the sales. Our policy paid $9,629.

Hays, KS

A food truck was leaving its venue. The people running the truck didn’t realize they forgot to close their service window. As they were leaving, the window struck a pole and ripped it off. The jolt to the truck caused a mixer inside to fall and was unrepairable. $3,521 was paid for the repair to the window and replacement of the mixer.

Though these are considered minor claims, if not covered, that’s a few thousand dollars straight out of your pocket, plus the added time and stress to deal with the problem on your own.

Here Are Some Of The Most Unusual And Largest Claims We Have Seen — Real Examples

Houston, TX

It was the first day of business for our new and excited client. They were taking their newly built food truck out on a job. As they got on the freeway, the engine caught fire. The fire overtook the truck within minutes. The fire department arrived, but was unable to extinguish the fire before it was engulfed. The truck was totaled, making it the worst first day of business for a food truck. Our policy paid $52,774 for the truck and loss of potential income.

Austin, TX

Our client’s truck was at a body shop for repairs. The truck was stolen overnight and the thieves ran it off a cliff causing total damage. No responsible party was found. Our policy paid for the replacement of the food truck. $37,767 was paid in damages, which included the loss of income during the time a new vehicle was being replaced.

A client’s truck was at a mechanic’s shop. While working on the generator, a fire erupted. The food truck — along with most of the shop — was destroyed. Our policy paid $70,977 for the truck and loss of income.

It is quite surprising that many of our large claims were not the fault of our clients, but rather the claims happened while the truck was under another person’s care…

Many times our clients assume that the shop they take their truck to has coverage. This is clearly not always the case. It’s important to trust who you leave your food truck with and ask about their current insurance. It’s also important to check with your insurance provider to see if their policy will cover damages while the vehicle is not in your control.

Here’s another thing that is surprising: Since we started writing food trucks in 2011, we have never taken a food illness claim! People constantly ask me about any foodborne illness claims and I’m proud to report that we have never received one. That is a testament to how clean gourmet food trucks really are and how some of the public continues to question the cleanliness of food trucks despite all the progress in the industry.

Though we hate to hear when a client suffers a loss, we love to help them during the process as we understand that food truck operators need to get back on the road to keep their business thriving.

If you have any questions about claims or insurance coverage, please don’t hesitate to ask!

#FoodTruckFan: Customer Loyalty Programs This week's inspiration comes from an unexpected location: my neighborhood's 90-year-old candy shop. I was intrigued—and impressed—to see an iPad Mini sitting on the counter. The iPad is part of the B...

How to Run a Food Truck 18: Be Consistent In last week’s “How to Run a Food Truck” lesson, we explained how achieving a healthy work/life balance and establishing a regular routine can make you a more effective business owner. Today, we’d lik...

About the Author

You found me! My name is Denny Christner. Although I have been in insurance for 15 years, I'm nacho typical insurance agent. I focus on food businesses including mobile food vendors, caterers, restaurants and artisan food manufacturers. I LOVE food and the food community. Life is too short to not be passionate about life and your career! That's why you do what you do, right? My goal is to help protect, promote and grow your mobile food business. When not working tirelessly on protecting the food community i can be found enjoying the beautiful Bay Area with my family. See you in the streets!